My Favorite Resources for My Least Favorite Genre And Why I Love Them [Pun Intended]

Later today I will be attending and live tweeting this ARRT Program:

Click here for details

I have been privy to some of the planning that is going into this panel. It is going to be an in-depth discussion about the genre from the perspective of the writers, editors, and reviewers but it will also include asking the panelists to consider themselves as readers and Romance fans. There will be discussions about trends in the genre including the HEA requirement and trope discussions. It is going to be great.

But I also know many of you cannot attend and, as of now, ARRT does not offer taping or recording of our programs [it is in discussion, but understand we are an all volunteer group and this requires a lot of moving parts], but don't worry, I have you covered. For a wrap-up, you can look at the #ARRTReads thread or just wait until Thursday when I will post general thoughts, links, and the entire thread which will be accessible to all, no need to have a Twitter account.

But now onto today's topic-- Romance Resource. It is no secret that Romance is my least favorite genre to read for fun. However, I am also very vocal about the fact that Romance readers are my absolute favorite readers to help. Why? Because, one, romance readers know what they like and why, and two, they are not afraid to tell me all about it.

I also really enjoy learning about my least favorite genres from the genres' biggest fans. In general, this is good advice for all of you. You will enjoy learning about a genre you don't enjoy so much more by listening to and reading the work of its fans. They will give you the genre's best version of itself from its ideal reader.

I spend a lot of time reading romance resources and reviews, rather than the books themselves. As a result, I end up getting so much more insight into Romance. Think about it. Instead of forcing myself to read a few Romance novels a year, I read articles and review by those who LOVE romance [again, pun intended]. I get myself excited about the books and I learn about the genre in general. I then share that enthusiasm and knowledge  with readers without letting my personal feelings get in the way.

This will work for any genre, but you have to put in some work. I spend about the amount of time it would take me to listen to 2 romance novels researching the genre-- every year. Now it is not all in one day, but rather sprinkled out over the course of a year. And sometimes, like today, I get 2 straight hours right from the experts themselves.

But you can't always be at a Romance panel 20 minutes from your house. So, here is my list of my favorite FREE romance resources [in no particular order] that I can access at any time, and what I like most about them:

• Romance Writers of America: This is where I go for award lists, industry statistics, and general state of the genre info.
• All About Romance: Reviews-- especially the Power Search! I can search by subgenre and heat level all in one place. And I can read those choices to the patron and let them decide the terms we are using as we search. I also love that there is a "varies" option for heat level.
• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books: I use this for everything. It is where I go to learn more about the genre because there are so many features, articles, reviews, even podcast episodes. I often spend a few days a year just going down the SBTB rabbit hole, reading everything I can get my   eyes and ears on.
• The Ripped Bodice: The most well known Romance books store in America. See what is selling well. See who is on tour [maybe they can come to your library if there are coming near your town]. Read their annual Diversity Report. 
• The ARRT Romance Genre Study: Although it is still in process, the genre study has created a wonderful resource-- the assignment reading lists, discussion notes and lecture slides. And they are available to all for free.

There are many more places to go for Romance info, but these five offer, in my opinion, a great cross section of points of view of the genre. When I use these resources, I get as broad a picture as possible of a genre millions love, even if I am not a personal fan.

Also don't forget to look for my report on today's great program coming on Thursday [I'm on location training all day tomorrow]. It will give you yet another resource.

ARRT Romance Program and Genre Study Updates-- Join Us In Person Or Follow Along Online

Click here to register

ARRT recently announced the first program of 2019:

Join us Tuesday, March 19, at 2 pm, for Acquiring the Duke: The Current State of Romance in Publishing and Libraries. The event takes place at Indian Prairie Public Library (Darien).  

Romance tends to be underestimated in the shuffle of collection development, readers’ advisory, and publishing–despite comprising 23% of the US fiction market. We are bringing all aspects to the forefront with our expert panel of editors, reviewers, and authors to discuss trends in romance, traditional and self-publishing, review sources, and much more. 

Panelists

• Mary Altman, Editor at Sourcebooks Casablanca
• Bobbi Dumas, freelance writer and book reviewer for several mainstream publications including Kirkus and NPR
• Jennifer Prokop, book reviewer and creator of Jen Reads Romance
• Amy Sandas, author
• Melonie Johnson, author
• Suleikha Snyder, author
• Panel Moderator: Susan Maguire, Senior Editor for Collection Management and Library Outreach at Booklist

Registration is now open. Member: $20Nonmember: $25Register here

This is an extremely well rounded program that will cover all areas of the genre, and it is moderated by my editor Susan [Woot!].

I am trying to figure out if I can make this panel as I am also supposed to be in Peoria that evening for dinner, but I would guess that many of you reading this can join us. Seriously, it is a great deal.

Also, this is the perfect time to remind everyone that it is also time to renew your ARRT membership. Membership costs $15 but as you can see above, it gives you at least $5 off each of our programs. Being a member literally pays for itself if you attend all 3 of our programs during the year.

While you never need to be a member to come to our programs, you do need to be a member to attend our Genre Study and Book Club Study in person. Speaking of the Genre Study, we have just begun year 2 of the the 2 year Romance Genre Study. In fact, we are having this Romance Program to enhance the Genre Study for those who have been attending AND have a Romance event for those who aren't members or who couldn't make the Genre Study meetings.

But, while you have to be a member to participate in the live Genre Study meetings, anyone can see [and even use for their own genre studies] our schedule, agendas, and notes. I have been unable to attend the Romance Genre Study meetings myself, but have been keeping up with the notes here and have learned quite a bit.

I hope you can find some time to attend our Romance Program or look at the Genre Study notes. Whether you are a romance expert or novice, there is something here for every library worker to use to help patrons better.

New ARRT Romance Genre Study Notes

Yesterday I spent 3 hours talking about how you can help genre fiction readers find their next good read. I spent most of the time trying to remove the fear and trepidation we all face, especially with readers of genres with which we are less familiar. The knowledge I give you really is power because  it gives you the tools to help all readers.

One of my major suggestions was to create a genre work out plan with being a part of a group genre study as one of the options. For example, the ARRT Genre Study.

Speaking of... at ARRT we have just posted the notes from the last meeting and have the next assignment up.  You can be lazy and click the links I provided below OR you can visit our romance genre study webpage which has every meeting assignment and notes [as we get to them] OR  the page which houses the notes and assignments from past genre studies.

Love Stories vs. RomanceApril 5, 2018, 2-4 PM
Glenview Public Library
AssignmentNotes 

Contemporary RomanceJune 7, 2018, 2-4 PM
Lisle District Library
Assignment

We highly encourage all of you out there to use our genre studies as a guide. Feel free to borrow our assignments, even use our notes and slides shows to guide your meetings. Or look ours over and go in a different direction, one that fits your group better. Whatever you decide, we want to be there to help you make the process easier, remove the hurdles of organization and information, so that you get started learning together.

All we ask is that you cite us as your source material if you use anything. That’s it.

Start getting back into genre shape with a few clicks today.

What I’m Reading: Wrong to Need You

Starting today, every other month I will be participating in the ARRT Romance Genre Study.  You can click here for the full schedule, assignments, and notes as they become available. Because this is the first year in the last 5 that I do not have any administrative responsibilities associated with the genre study program, I will probably only attend half of the meetings [the ones closer to my house], but every other month, I will be completing the assignment and posting my feelings about the book I read. Then I will engage with the group in person, or through the notes after. Either way, there will be a post here with the book I read.

I am doing this because I don’t read enough romance on my own. Being in this genre study will force me to not only read more romance, but also to participate in conversation about my reading and how to help other readers. I will read, share and most importantly, listen to everyone else [either in person or by reading the notes]. And, whether I attend or not, I will also follow up by posting the notes of each meeting here for easy access.

Our first assignment was to read any romance. I decided to read the subgenre I am the least interested in personally-- contemporary, American set romance. Why is the least interesting to me? Well, while I totally understand why people like romance [quick read, good characters, interesting frames, happy endings], I much prefer horror for these same reasons, and that is purely because of the scariness versus heartwarming feelings the book gives, also I like the endings of horror better. But, if I am going to read romance, I tend to seek out historical because I also love historical fiction or internationally set ones because I love learning about new places.

Also, I should note, the sexiness level in a romance is not an issue I have, I really don’t care one way or another, but since steamier romances are a growing trend, I figured I would go with one of the best reviewed steamy, contemporary series of the last year.

In a few weeks, I will post the notes for today's meeting, but for now, here is my review.

Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai is the second book in the Forbidden Hearts series. For non-romance readers, please note that romance series can be read in any order. Each book is a complete story of one couple. The series comes from the fact that different characters from the world get their chance to have their own book- and their own love story. So the setting and the cast of characters are the same, it is just the spotlight that shifts.

Here is the publisher’s summary via Goodreads:

He wasn’t supposed to fall in love with his brother’s widow… 

Accused of a crime he didn’t commit, Jackson Kane fled his home, his name, and his family. Ten years later, he’s come back to town: older, wiser, richer, tougher—and still helpless to turn away the one woman he could never stop loving, even after she married his brother. 

Sadia Ahmed can’t deal with the feelings her mysterious former brother-in-law stirs, but she also can’t turn down his offer of help with the cafe she’s inherited. While he heats up her kitchen, she slowly discovers that the boy she adored has grown into a man she’s simply unable to resist. 

An affair is unthinkable, but their desire is undeniable. As secrets and lies are stripped away, Sadia and Jackson must decide if they’re strong enough to face the past...and step into a future together.

Appeal: There are a few excellent appeal entry points for this story beyond the basic appeal of romance itself. First the characters are great. Sadia and Jackson of course, but the large family, cast of characters are well drawn.  This is an extended family of renown in a small town, with plenty of drama in their long tangled history between the whole lot of them. Plus, the characters are multiracial without being stereotypical. In other words they are realistically diverse.

The family saga frame here also leads to another appeal, the drama is high and interesting without being melodramatic. I hate when the drama veers toward melodramatic. Seriously, when I have to read a book where what keeps the couple apart is merely a stupid misunderstanding that escalates or is so over the top that it is ridiculous, ugh....I stop reading or caring. And the whole point of a romance is to care about the couple.  Well here, since these people all have a long, complicated history with each other, and the drama comes from a variety of angles-- both between the romance couple and their different relationships with friends and family-- it all felt natural and organic.  It is also good the the set up was predicated on the fact that these families are already the source of the town’s gossip.

Also, the obstacles between Sadia and Jackson are deeper than that he is her dead husband’s brother. There are a lot of layers here.

I really enjoyed Sadia’s relationship with her son. It was very sweet. Also the issues with her dead husband are well explored. And there is one scene where she really lays into her sisters for not bring there for her which I also liked. Her relationship with her sisters was realistic and relatable.

The themes of redemption, family secrets, and second chances at love are also an important appeal factor to note. As are the cooking and bartending frames.

The prose is engaging and it moves briskly without sacrificing the necessary details. The sex would be classified as steamy.

Following the various subplots, which all converge on the fact that family is the most important thing no matter how much baggage and conflict family brings, keeps you turning the pages.

Three Words That Describe This Book: family saga, second chances, steamy

Readalikes: There are many ways to go here. I will start with the fact that Wrong to Need You was on many “Best Romance of 2017” lists. Here’s one and here is another. If you have access to NoveList it is also in their list of the best romance of 2017. Any of the other titles appearing on these lists are a good suggestion for someone who does not have preferences about subgenre or heat index.

If you enjoyed the multi-ethnic hero and heroine and wants more like that, try this list.

If you want more second chance romance, try this list.

There is a “Sexy Times” shelf on Goodreads. This book has been shelved there a few times. The range of titles here is great. Since it is user defined and then aggregated with the most popularly shelved titles at the top, you get a very interesting and diverse list of possibilities.

Finally here are some contemporary romance authors I would suggest as a good starting point if the above lists are too overwhelming are:

• Rebekah Weatherspoon
• Laura Kaye
• Alexis Daria
• And of course, Susan Elizabeth Phillips [who's still got it]

ARRT Book Club Study and Genre Study Notes and News and a ARRTCon teaser

Last Thursday we had our every other month ARRT Steering Committee meeting and I have many things to share with all of you out there, no matter where you live. Here's the preview and then you can read below for the details that most interest you:

• Updates to the Book Club Study including new notes and the November meeting info
• Updates to the current Genre Study
• Announcement of the 2017-18 Genre study topic!
• A save the date with some early info on ARRTCon [which will be awesome and a great deal]

Okay, now all the juicy details.

The Book Club Study group met in July and had an amazing discussion of Dream Land: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones. The group highly recommends doing this book as a discussion at your library. They could have kept going for another hour. The leadership topic was about how discussing nonfiction is different with your book club. The group also created an EXCELLENT list of nonfiction titles that worked and didn't work with people's book clubs. We will eventually turn it into a bibliography and post it here, but if you can't wait, it is in the notes. Speaking of....

Click here now to access the notes on the discussion of both the book and the leadership topic. If you encounter this post in the future, the links will have been moved to the Archive page.

All of the details about anything book discussion related from upcoming schedules, to notes about any of our past discussions, to resources from other places are always available on the ARRT Book Club Study site.

Next up for the ARRT Book Club Study is:

Please join us for a discussion of The Mothers by Brit Bennett led by Megan Rosol: 

It begins with a secret. 

"All good secrets have a taste before you tell them, and if we'd taken a moment to swish this one around our mouths, we might have noticed the sourness of an unripe secret, plucked too soon, stolen and passed around before its season." 

It is the last season of high school life for Nadia Turner, a rebellious, grief-stricken, seventeen-year-old beauty. Mourning her own mother's recent suicide, she takes up with the local pastor's son. Luke Sheppard is twenty-one, a former football star whose injury has reduced him to waiting tables at a diner. They are young; it's not serious. 

But the pregnancy that results from this teen romance—and the subsequent cover-up—will have an impact that goes far beyond their youth. As Nadia hides her secret from everyone, including Aubrey, her God-fearing best friend, the years move quickly. 

Soon, Nadia, Luke, and Aubrey are full-fledged adults and still living in debt to the choices they made that one seaside summer, caught in a love triangle they must carefully maneuver, and dogged by the constant, nagging question: What if they had chosen differently? The possibilities of the road not taken are a relentless haunt.

In entrancing, lyrical prose, The Mothers asks whether a "what if" can be more powerful than an experience itself. If, as time passes, we must always live in servitude to the decisions of our younger selves, to the communities that have parented us, and to the decisions we make that shape our lives forever.

The discussion will be held:

Wednesday, November 8th

2-4 pm

Morton Grove Public Library

RSVP to Megan Rosol (mrosol@mgpl.org) 

Please arrange to obtain your own copy of the book for the discussion 

As always, discussion of the book includes a nuts-and-bolts session devoted to sharing practical solutions to the problems and concerns of book discussion leaders. 

The Leadership Topic, led by Greta Ulrich, will focus on discussing sensitive topics. Please come ready to share your successes and failures in this area so we can all help each other. Also, remember that you can always bring any problems or concerns you have with your group, no matter the topic, so we can all help each other.

I am especially excited for this discussion because I loved The Mothers the first time I read it. I also advocated for this leadership topic once Megan picked this book for her discussion because we really need to find a way to teach people how to have civil, respectful, and thoughtful discussions about touchy subjects. People in general are doing a very bad job at this. We, as library workers, can lead through example here.

Now on to the news about the current Genre Study. Here I will be quick because you all want to know about the next one. Please go to the Speculative Fiction Genre Study website for lots of new information. We have the entire schedule from the past 2 years up with notes and assignments. We have only 2 meetings left, so there is a ton of useful info here. Use it to train yourself or as a guide to lead your own genre study.

But you want to know what's next.  I know. Well, we tallied the votes and....drum roll please... Romance came out on top, barely beating nonfiction. We are all very excited to get started planning the next genre study and will be using much of what we learned by shaking things up with the Crime Fiction and Speculative Fiction Studies to improve this one. Plus, we have a team of Romance experts and novices on the leadership team which I think is fantastic. I really think a genre study is improved by including the voices from both sides in the planning and execution of the genre study.

And the last bit of ARRT news is that you all should save the date for ARRTCon on Thursday, November 9th at Naperville Public Library's newly renovated 95th Street branch. This all day RA focused conference will include breakfast and lunch, a keynote by a Chicago area author, the chance to choose your [multiple] breakout sessions based on your training needs [I will be leading some], programming geared toward all levels from RA 101 to RA experts, and a book buzz with free ARCs from Sourcebooks and Random House-- all for a cost of a half day at our state conference. And it’s no filler-- all RA, all day.

The details are almost all in place and being passed on to our contracted graphic designer. The EventBrite is being set up so you can rank your breakout session choices. As soon as it is all ready, I will let you know. This is going to be one of our best,  all day events ever.

Finally, don't forget about the ARRT website or Facebook page for lots of RA related news and info. We realize that membership makes more sense for people who can attend our programs so we offer free access to the newsletter and all of our notes to help ALL. Every patron deserve quality RA Service, and ARRT is doing our part by making as much of our information available as possible.